FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Sunday 11/21/21

The NBA scene changes on a week-to-week, day-to-day, and -- depending on injury news -- even a minute-to-minute basis, making every slate a unique one that requires an ever-changing approach.

With so much changing so quickly, we're here with plenty of tools to help you out. We have daily projections, a matchup heat map, a lineup optimizer, and a bunch of other great resources to help give you an edge.

Daily fantasy NBA is very reliant on opportunity, so you'll need to make sure that you're up-to-date with key injuries. Our projections update up until tip-off to reflect current news, and we also have player news updates.

We'll be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each position. Tonight's main slate starts at 6 p.m. EST.

Guards

Stephen Curry, PG, (FanDuel Salary: $10,800) - As of early Sunday, this looks like a funky slate. We have only four games to choose from, and none of them are great fantasy environments. The highest total (by 5.0 points) is only 215.5, and the closest spread is 5.0 points. Curry doesn't rate out as a good point-per-dollar play, but the ceiling is there if he stays hot. Curry has produced between 52.3 and 58.9 FanDuel points in four straight games, and the Toronto Raptors are a little off defensively this season, sitting 19th in defensive efficiency.

Lonzo Ball, PG, $6,800 - Ball is off to a good start in his first campaign with the Chicago Bulls. He's logged at least 37 minutes in each of the last three games, and while a date with the New York Knicks is not a fun fantasy environment, that doesn't matter as much on this small slate. Among the 10 highest-salaried guards, Ball is the best point-per-dollar pick, per our algorithm. We project him for 33.8 FanDuel points (4.97 per $1,000).

Kemba Walker, PG, $4,800 - As of Sunday morning, Kemba checks in as the premier point-per-dollar play at guard as we project him for 26.4 FanDuel points, which comes out to 5.49 per $1,000. Walker owns a respectable 23.1% usage rate over the last five games, which is just 2.8 percentage points off the team lead. Kemba's production has been all over the place, but he had a 38.1-point game four outings ago and has surpassed 20.0 FanDuel points in three of his past six. He can be a nice source of value.

Others to Consider: Chris Paul ($8,900), Alec Burks ($4,500)

Wings

Pascal Siakam, PF, $8,100 - Siakam dudded with 17.1 FanDuel points two games ago, but other than that stinker, he's put up 45.1, 37.2 and 50.9 FanDuel points across his last four. The Dubs have been excellent defensively, but if you're using Curry and counting on Toronto to keep it close, it makes sense to lock in a piece from the Raptors. Siakam paces the Raps in usage rate (23.9%) over the last four games and projects for 38.7 FanDuel points (4.77 per $1,000) in the game with the highest total on the slate.

Jerami Grant, PF, $7,300 - Grant has a nice matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that ranks second in pace and 18th in defensive rating. His FanDuel outputs have been anything but consistent over the last four -- 39.8, 26.6, 8.7 and 38.5 -- but that volatility can be great for us if we pick him on the right night. There's some blowout risk with the Detroit Pistons a 7.5-point 'dog, but Grant should see good run if it's competitive. He spearheads Detroit in usage (24.6%) over the last four, and our model projects him for 33.7 FanDuel points.

Mikal Bridges, SF/PF, $5,100 - Bridges has been really good the last two games with Frank Kaminsky sidelined, and Kaminsky is out today. Over the last two, Bridges has generated 33.3 and 29.8 FanDuel points while seeing 36 minutes in each game. The Phoenix Suns are playing at the fifth-quickest pace, and Bridges shapes up as a really solid salary-saver. We project him for 27.3 FanDuel points (5.35 per $1,000).

Others to Consider: LeBron James ($10,000), Isaiah Stewart ($5,000)

Bigs

Nikola Jokic, C, $11,300 - The status of Jokic looms large over this slate. If he sits, like he did in the Denver Nuggets' last game, Denver will offer up a lot of value. If Jokic plays, he's the slate's top option in a huge pace-up spot for the Nugs. Jokic has been going absolutely crazy without Michael Porter Jr., putting up at least 60.8 FanDuel points in three of his past five games. His ceiling could break this slate if he suits up. Our model accounts for him playing (as of Sunday morning) and pegs Jokic to score a slate-best 53.0 FanDuel points.

Draymond Green, PF/C, $6,900 - If Jokic sits, I'll probably turn to Green. Our projections as pretty into him as we forecast him to post 34.9 FanDuel points (5.06 per $1,000). Toronto is allowing the 12th-most FanDuel points per game to centers (51.1), and while Green's ceiling is pretty blah, he's scored between 28.0 and 31.4 FanDuel points six consecutive games.

Others to Consider: Julius Randle ($8,400), Tony Bradley ($4,300)